EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Project Overview
Despite Sikhs having lived in the United States for over a century, limited information is known about the Sikh American community. Up to this point there has not been a national survey that measures the multiple facets of the lives of Sikhs living in the United States. SALDEF, a national Sikh American civil rights, advocacy, and education organization, has the mission to empower Sikh Americans by building dialogue, deepening understanding, promoting civic and political participation, and upholding social justice and religious freedoms for all Americans. To address the lack of information on the experiences, perspectives, and advocacy needs of Sikh Americans, SALDEF developed the first National Sikh American Survey. The survey’s findings will help policymakers, researchers, foundations, elected officials, news organizations, and Sikh organizations understand Sikhs across the United States. The SALDEF research team developed a survey of 48 questions across eight topics: demographics, Sikh at work and school, cultural connection, political engagement, use and perception of news, access to resources, discrimination, and awareness of SALDEF. The survey was open to all Sikhs 13 years of age or older, currently living in the United States. The survey was programmed on SurveyMonkey and was open for 27 days. It had a final sample of 1,861 responses.
5
